Grindleford, Hathersage Booths, Hathersage, Bamford, Thornhill, Brough, Hope, and Castleton

Walking the entire length of the Hope Valley from east to west.

A walk today which takes in short sections of footpaths and roads that I'd not previously walked along, maybe a quarter of the entire distance covered.

I got off the bus at the bottom of the hill at Grindleford and walked through riverside meadows and woodlands before climbing up to Hathersage Booths, taking a route which was new to me; it was difficult to find the path too.

The path went straight over the main Sheffield to Manchester railway line.

I then walked the few hundred yards down the road into Hathersage village and had a pot of tea at Cintra's Tearooms, one of my favourite establishments in the Peak District. I was the only customer in the front sitting area; there might have been people at the back, upstairs, or even outside in the garden.

I left the village using a back street which runs parallel to the main road, but higher, until I reached a short footpath across a field down to the main road. I had to re-cross the railway line.

This path continued at the other side of the road, leading down to the river. At one point the thoughtful landowner had provided a pole for me to rest my testicles on - it was exactly the right height for me.

After a few hundred yards there was a choice, either turn left and use the stepping stones over the river, or turn right and climb back up to the main road. I turned right...definitely the right choice.

I found two short scenic paths at Brough so that I didn't have to walk along the road and then took a rather overgrown path to Thornhill.

It was quite a long section along the main Hope Valley road until I reached Hope itself; there are several milestones along the route.

I don't think the church at Hope is very pretty; I think it looks quite austere and even sinister.

The last couple of miles across the fields and along country lanes to Castleton is pretty. Just after leaving Hope there's a footbridge over the railway branch line that goes to Hope cement works. It was constructed to hang lower in the middle, a bit like a rope bridge in the jungle.

I only had about five minutes to wait for the bus at Castleton. When we reached Hope a large stag party boarded. The groom was meant to be Robin Hood, but he looked more like Julie Andrews [the actress who starred in 'The Sound of Music' and 'Mary Poppins'] dressed as a leprechaun. Unsurprisingly they were going to the Little John pub in Hathersage.

Hollow Meadows, Rivelin, Rivelin Valley, Malin Bridge, and Hiillsborough.

A winter wonderland - even though it's meant to be spring.

Well...today didn't turn out as I planned; not in the least. Nonetheless I still had a great time out in the snow; the deepest snow I've experienced this winter...even though it's now spring. I knew there was a lot of lying snow, even in Doncaster as I set off wearing my ice grippers to walk to the railway station; but I'd checked online and the main roads seemed to be clear. So, I made plans to go walking around the lanes to the north of Hathersage where I hoped the snowy conditions wouldn't be too difficult; I certainly didn't want to be slogging across open country today.

My first change of plan happened when the Hathersage bus didn't turn up: the 273 service did though a few minutes later and so I got on that. I thought I'd get off at Fairholmes and walk along part of the track which goes around Ladybower Reservoir, but the driver informed us that he wasn't going up the valley because of the weather, Plan number three was to get off at the Ladybower Inn and take a low level route to Hathersage and pop into Cintra's Tearooms for something to eat. However, this plan was thwarted too when the bus reached just beyond Rivelin where the road was blocked by a deep snowdrift. Although it hadn't snowed for many hours, and the road had been ploughed and gritted, there was a strong wind which had blown snow from the fields onto the carriageway. Although we were actually out of sight of the blockage, the snow which we could see being lifted was quite spectacular.

After finding out what the problem was, most of us got off the bus. I was the first and jumped straight into some deep snow, almost up to my knees. I decided to walk back down the road towards Sheffield.  Some of the other passengers decided on the same strategy, but at the first opportunity left the road and took a footpath leading down to the Wyming Brook Nature Reserve.

As I was walking I  stopped once or twice to take photographs or have a rummage in my rucksack, and the remaining passenger who was walking along the road caught up with me, and we immediately got talking. I recognised him, he's usually on the early train on a Sunday when I'm travelling on it, and sometimes he ends up on the same bus as me (like today). Prior to today, we've exchanged the odd few words, but nothing more though.

I  found out that he's called Dougie, and, as I expected, is from Doncaster too. We walked together and chatted for about two hours until we went our separate ways at the Rivelin Café. I think I did most of the talking.

I popped into the toilets located at the start of the Rivelin Valley Nature Trail: there was a sign pinned to the door saying that they will be closing on March 31st...so that's the last time I'll be using those. More facilities lost.

Once we got down into the valley and into the woodland it was a lot more sheltered. The trees were heavy with snow and the millponds and dams were frozen...picture postcard perfect.

Along the way I noticed something I hadn't seen before on previous visits; a piece of artwork depicting a chair, placed on an inaccessible island in the middle of the river.

At the café, myself and Dougie said our goodbyes. He continued walking, but I went into the public toilets to wash my hands and then went into the café hoping to buy a hot meal. I wasn't the only one with this idea though; it was packed and there were no empty seats, so I found a bench down by the millrace, brushed off the snow, and sat down and enjoyed my rice pudding which had stayed quite hot in my flask. I rarely take the flask, but I knew today was going to be chilly. 

It wasn't far then to walk down to Malin Bridge and the shops at Hillsborough. I walked along the main shopping street hoping to find a café that might be open, but with it being a Sunday none was.

I crossed the road and waited for the tram: it wasn't long until it arrived. With it being earlier in the day, it got very busy with people going shopping at Meadowhall, or going skating or bowling, or to the cinema. I was just going home.

Moscar Moor, Hathersage, Leadmill, and Bamford.

The train was late departing from Doncaster this morning; we did eventually set off after a delay of fifteen minutes. The guard announced that we were due to arrive in Sheffield at 08:53: my bus was due at 08:52 and so I had to plan an alternative walk, catching a later bus. Fortunately there's another bus heading for the Peak District only ten minutes later, going along a different route.

Although it was quite sunny in Sheffield, when I got off the bus at the county boundary on Moscar Moor it was raining; almost horizontally due to the strong wind. The weather forecast was for an improvement before lunch; half an hour later the rain had stopped, and the sun was shining well before I reached Hathersage.

I was a bit disappointed that there was no snow where I was walking; I did however soon see my first snow of the winter on the flanks of Bleaklow in the distance.

I headed southwards towards Stanage Edge, but took the path that goes along the bottom of the cliff; it was slightly more sheltered...but still windy and exposed. On the path down to Dennis Knoll I encountered my first people of the walk, a group of sturdy fellrunners heading uphill.

By now the sun was shining and Stanage Edge was looking magnificent: it was a shame that it was behind me, but this gave me an excuse to make frequent stops to admire the view and take photographs.

I arrived at Hathersage just before midday and headed straight for Cintra's Tearooms where I ordered a cooked breakfast, served with a pot of tea [with an additional pot of hot water - enough for four large cups in total] and a plateful of toast, complete with butter and marmalade.

I made my way out of Hathersage on Station Road, popping into the baker's shop for an apple turnover. I was soon at Leadmill and noticed that several fields were flooded; I thought my way ahead might be flooded...and I was proven to be correct in my assumption.

I crossed over the bridge and took the path that goes along the riverbank. It wasn't long until the path was flooded.

I found a stick to gauge the depth, and estimated it to be about 18 inches; just a bit too deep for me. However, I noticed some prominent exposed tree roots on the bank and used these to secure a footing; meaning that I could avoid the deepest part of the water and only ended up wading through about a foot of the River Derwent. I've watched all of the Indiana Jones films and I don't recall Harrison Ford ever having to do this.

By the way, for those of you who know the area, the photo was taken after I had successfully passed this obstacle - the sun was at a better angle facing this direction.

There are some lovely views along the next section of the walk; the photograph shows Bamford Edge and Win Hill.

I continued along the path to reach the bottom of Shatton Lane, and then walked along the road back to the bus-stop at Bamford station.